Contents

The Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was established in 1991 from sixteen clubs as a highest league for the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Football Association, LFVM (German:Landesfussballverband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern). It comprised the area of the three Bezirksligen of Rostock, Neubrandenburg and Schwerin. Each of those three Bezirke contributed four to five clubs to the new league, with two clubs coming from the 2nd Division, the Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was the last of the five leagues established at this level in former East Germany, a year after the other four.

The league was originally named Landesliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and changed to the title Verbandsliga in 1996.

The Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Football Association was formed on 14 July 1990.[1]

Throughout its existence, the league operated on a strength of sixteen clubs, occasionally diverting to seventeen to level out promotion and relegation.

The league was established from sixteen clubs from four leagues in 1991. Most of the East German clubs changed their names in the years after the reunion, some reverted to their old ones after a brief period, current names, when different from the one in 1991, are listed, the clubs are:

1.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed

2.
Geography of association football
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The following article gives a list of association football confederations, sub-confederations and associations around the world. The sports international governing body is FIFA, but those not affiliated to FIFA are also included in this article. In the Americas, leagues are organised as either multi-stage tournaments or separate Apertura and Clausura stages. The football associations listed in this section are members of FIFA-affiliated confederations, all UEFA associations are affiliated with FIFA. All CONMEBOL associations are affiliated with FIFA, the football associations in this section represent fully or partially recognized sovereign states or dependent territories, but are not part of FIFA or a FIFA confederation. Beneath the national level, governance of football may be divided up into regional or territorial associations, other non-national associations represent stateless populations, diasporas or micronations. Details of these are listed at non-FIFA international football

3.
UEFA
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The Union of European Football Associations is the administrative body for association football in Europe, although several member states are primarily or entirely located in Asia. It is one of six continental confederations of world footballs governing body FIFA, UEFA consists of 55 national association members. Until 1959 the main headquarters were located in Paris, and later in Bern, in 1995, UEFA headquarters were transferred to Nyon, Switzerland. Henri Delaunay was the first general secretary and Ebbe Schwartz the first president, UEFA was founded on 15 June 1954 in Basel, Switzerland after consultation between the Italian, French, and Belgian associations. The European football union began with 25 members, that number doubled by the early 1990s, UEFA membership coincides for the most part with recognition as a sovereign country in Europe, although there are some exceptions. Some UEFA members are not sovereign states, but form part of a recognized sovereign state in the context of international law. Some UEFA members are transcontinental states, countries which had been members of the Asian Football Confederation were also admitted to the European football association, particularly Israel and Kazakhstan. Additionally some UEFA member associations allow teams from outside their associations main territory to take part in their domestic competition, saarland Football Union 1954–1956 German football association of the German Democratic Republic 1954–1990 Football Federation of the Soviet Union 1954–1991, in 1992 became Russian Football Union. The newly independent 14 Soviet Republics created their own football associations, Football Association of Yugoslavia 1954–1992, became Football Association of Serbia and Montenegro. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia became independent, Football Association of Serbia and Montenegro 1992–2006, became Football Association of Serbia. Montenegro, which became independent, created its own football association, the main competition for mens national teams is the UEFA European Football Championship, started in 1958, with the first finals in 1960, and known as the European Nations Cup until 1964. It is also called UEFA or the EURO, UEFA also runs national competitions at Under-21, Under-19 and Under-17 levels. For womens national teams, UEFA operates the UEFA Womens Championship for senior sides as well as Womens Under-19. UEFA also organized the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup with CAF for youth teams in an effort to boost youth football, UEFA launched the UEFA Regions Cup, for semi-professional teams representing their local region, in 1999. In futsal there is the UEFA Futsal Championship and UEFA Futsal Under-21 Championship, the Italian, German, Spanish and French mens national teams are the sole teams to have won the European football championship in all categories. A second, lower-ranked competition is the UEFA Europa League and this competition, for national knockout cup winners and high-placed league teams, was launched by UEFA in 1971 as a successor of both the former UEFA Cup and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. A third competition, the UEFA Cup Winners Cup, which had started in 1960, was absorbed into the UEFA Cup in 1999, in womens football UEFA also conducts the UEFA Womens Champions League for club teams. The competition was first held in 2001, and known as the UEFA Womens Cup until 2009, the UEFA Super Cup pits the winners of the Champions League against the winners of the Europa League, and came into being in 1973

4.
Promotion and relegation
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In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between two divisions based on their performance for the completed season. In some leagues, playoffs or qualifying rounds are used to determine rankings. This process can continue through several levels of divisions, with teams being exchanged between levels 1 and 2, levels 2 and 3, levels 3 and 4, the number of teams exchanged between the divisions is almost always identical. Such variations will almost inevitably cause an effect through the lower divisions. Even in the absence of such circumstances, the pyramid-like nature of most European football league systems can still create knock-on effects at the regional level. The system is said to be the characteristic of the European form of professional sports league organization. Promotion and relegation have the effect of allowing the maintenance of a hierarchy of leagues and divisions and they also maintain the importance of games played by many low-ranked teams near the end of the season, which may be at risk of relegation. In contrast, a low-ranked US or Canadian teams final games serve little purpose, although not intrinsic to the system, problems can occur due to the differing monetary payouts and revenue-generating potential that different divisions provide to their clubs. For example, financial hardship has sometimes occurred in leagues where clubs do not reduce their wage bill once relegated, some leagues offer parachute payments to its relegated teams for the following year. The payouts are higher than the money received by some non-relegated teams and are designed to soften the financial hit that clubs take whilst dropping out of the Premier League. However, in many cases these parachute payments just serve to inflate the costs of competing for promotion among the lower division clubs as newly relegated teams retain a financial advantage. If these are not satisfied, a team may be promoted in their place. While the primary purpose of the system is to maintain competitive balance. On several occasions, the Italian Football Federation has relegated clubs found to have involved in match-fixing. This occurred most recently in 2006, when the initial champions Juventus were relegated to Serie B. An exception is the proposed UEFA Nations League, which will feature promotion and relegation across four levels, in tennis, the Davis Cup has promotion and relegation where each group uses a knockout tournament format in which first-round losers play off to avoid relegation. In the United States, Canada, and Australia, teams are not promoted or relegated. The USL set up two leagues, now known as the United Soccer League and the Premier Development League, although the system is now in place, it is not compulsory and is rarely used

5.
NOFV-Oberliga Nord
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The NOFV-Oberliga Nord is the fifth tier of the German football league system in the northern states of former East Germany and West Berlin. It covers the German states of Berlin, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, iIt is one of fourteen Oberligas in German football. Until the introduction of the 3, Liga in 2008 it was the fourth tier of the league system, until the introduction of the Regionalligas in 1994 the third tier. The NOFV-Oberliga Nord was formed in 1991 when, along with the reunion of Germany. The abbreviation NOFV stands for Nordostdeutscher Fußballverband, meaning North East German Football Association, along with this league, two other NOFV-Oberligas were formed, the NOFV-Oberliga Mitte and the NOFV-Oberliga Süd. The league accommodated therefore a mix of clubs from the east and west of Germany. With the FC Berlin, the former BFC Dynamo, and Vorwärts Frankfurt and it was also the first time since 1950 that clubs from East- and West-Berlin played in the same league. The league became one of the then ten Oberligas in the united Germany and its champion was however not directly promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga but had to take part in a promotion play-off. In 1993 the league champion was successful in competition, in 1992 and 1994 they failed. The four Regionalligen were introduced as a level between 2nd Bundesliga and Oberligen, relegating the Oberligen to fourth tier from now on. In the east of Germany, the Regionalliga Nordost was formed, five clubs from the former league were added to the NOFV-Oberliga Nord, three of them from Berlin and two from the northern part of Saxony-Anhalt. The league now became the only Oberliga with clubs from Berlin, from 1995 to 1999, the champions of the league were directly promoted to the Regionalliga Nordost. In 1997 and 1999, the runners-up were eligible for promotion too, with the reduction of the number of Regionalligen to two, the league came under the Regionalliga Nord. Five clubs were relegated that season from the now disbanded Regionalliga Nordost, the regulations about promotion kept on changing and until 2006, the league champion had to play-off with the champion of the southern league for one promotion spot. Only in 2004 did the northern champion come out as a winner of this contest, from the 2006 season onwards, direct promotion was awarded again. The league changes in 2008 with the introduction of the 3rd Liga meant the Oberligen was now the tier of league football in Germany. Another league reform, decided upon in 2010, saw the reestablishment of the Regionalliga Nordost from 2012 onwards, with the league champions, F. C. Hansa Rostock II being ineligible for promotion TSG Neustrelitz, FSV Optik Rathenow and 1. FC Union Berlin II were directly promoted to the new Regionalliga while Torgelower SV Greif achieved promotion through a play-off round, the complete list of clubs in the league and their final placings,1 In 1999 Spandauer SV withdrew from the Regionalliga to the Verbandsliga

6.
FC Mecklenburg Schwerin
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FC Mecklenburg Schwerin is a German football club based in Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. FC Mecklenburg Schwerin was established in 2013 as a merger of FC Eintracht Schwerin, Eintracht was founded in 1945 and has been through a number of name changes over the years, resulting in a colourful history. The football team has played at a number of different levels, including the top East German division, FSV Schwerin when the football department of Schweriner SC separated. They currently play in the fifth tier NOFV-Oberliga Nord after a championship in the Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in 2015–16. Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Champions, 2015–16 FC Mecklenburg Schwerin plays its home fixtures at the 10,000 capacity Stadion Lambrechtsgrund

7.
German football league system
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The top three professional levels contain one division each. Below this, the semi-professional and amateur levels have progressively more parallel divisions, teams that finish at the top of their division at the end of each season can rise higher in the pyramid, whilst those that finish at the bottom find themselves sinking further down. In theory it is possible for even the lowest local amateur club to rise to the top of the system, on top of the system sit the level 1 Bundesliga and the level two 2. Bundesliga, both organized by the professional German Football League, the two top flights then are followed by the level three 3. Liga, the lowest full professional division in Germany, held by the German Football Association itself, for Bavaria, the Bavarian Football Association, a member state association of the Southern German Football Association, runs their top division under their own jurisdiction. Starting at level five, the various fully amateur divisions are usually governed by the 21 state associations, after each season, the winners of the Bundesliga are crowned German football champions. The bottom two Bundesliga teams are relegated to 2, Bundesliga, whereas the best two teams of the second level promote to the top flight. Additionally, the third-last ranked team of Bundesliga and the third-best ranked team of 2, Bundesliga play a promotion/relegation playoff for the final spot in the next Bundesliga edition. Bundesliga teams are relegated to 3, liga, whereas the best two teams of the third level promote to the second flight. Additionally, the third-last ranked team of 2, Bundesliga and the third-best ranked team of 3. Liga play a playoff for the final spot in the next 2. The bottom three teams of 3, the two regional bodies Southwestern Regional Football Association and Southern German Football Association share the jurisdiction on the Regionalliga Südwest. As an exception to the promotion rules within the German league system. Instead the five division winners along with the runner-up of the Regionalliga Südwest enter a playoff for three promotion spots to the 3. The champions enter a promotion playoff along with the winners of the four other Regionalliga divisions, the champions enter a promotion playoff along with the winners of the four other Regionalliga divisions and the Regionalliga Südwest runner-up for three promotions to the 3. The champions enter a promotion playoff along with the winners of the four other Regionalliga divisions, the champions and the runner-up enter a promotion playoff along with the winners of the four other Regionalliga divisions for three promotions to the 3. By rule, the champions and the runner-up will not face each other in the promotion playoffs, mostly in line with the geographical borders of the 16 German states, amateur football is organised by 21 state football associations. Three states are subdivided into more than one state football association, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia is subdivided into three state associations, these being Middle Rhine, Lower Rhine and Westphalia

8.
States of Germany
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Germany is a federal republic consisting of sixteen federal states. Since todays Germany was formed from a collection of several states, it has a federal constitution. The remaining 13 states are called Flächenländer, the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 was through the unification of the western states created in the aftermath of World War II. West Berlin, while not part of the Federal Republic, was largely integrated and considered as a de facto state. In 1952, following a referendum, Baden, Württemberg-Baden, in 1957, the Saar Protectorate rejoined the Federal Republic as the Saarland. Federalism is one of the constitutional principles of Germany. After 1945, new states were constituted in all four zones of occupation, in 1949, the states in the three western zones formed the Federal Republic of Germany. This is in contrast to the development in Austria, where the Bund was constituted first. The use of the term Länder dates back to the Weimar Constitution of 1919, before this time, the constituent states of the German Empire were called Staaten. Today, it is common to use the term Bundesland. However, this term is not used officially, neither by the constitution of 1919 nor by the Basic Law of 1949, three Länder call themselves Freistaaten, Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia. He summarizes the arguments for boundary reform in Germany. The German system of dual federalism requires strong Länder that have the administrative and fiscal capacity to implement legislation, too many Länder also make coordination among them and with the federation more complicated. But several proposals have failed so far, territorial reform remains a topic in German politics. Federalism has a tradition in German history. The Holy Roman Empire comprised many petty states numbering more than 300 around 1796, the number of territories was greatly reduced during the Napoleonic Wars. After the Congress of Vienna,39 states formed the German Confederation, the new German Empire included 25 states and the imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. The empire was dominated by Prussia, which controlled 65% of the territory, after the territorial losses of the Treaty of Versailles, the remaining states continued as republics of a new German federation

9.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
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Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is a federal state in northern Germany. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the sixth largest German state by area, and the least densely populated, three of Germanys fourteen national parks are in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, in addition to several hundred nature conservation areas. Major cities include Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Stralsund, Greifswald, Wismar, the University of Rostock and the University of Greifswald are among the oldest in Europe. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was the site of the 33rd G8 summit in 2007, due to its lengthy name, the state is often abbreviated as MV or shortened to MeckPomm. In English, it is translated as Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania or literally Mecklenburg-Cispomerania. Inhabitants are called either Mecklenburger or Pomeranians, the form is never used. The full name in German is pronounced and this is because the digraph <ck> marks a preceding short vowel in High German. Mecklenburg however is within the historical Low German language area, another explanation is that the c comes from a mannerism in High German officialese of writing unnecessary letters, a so-called Letternhäufelung. Human settlement in the area of modern Mecklenburg and Vorpommern began after the Ice Age, about two thousand years ago, Germanic peoples were recorded in the area. Most of them left during the Migration Period, heading towards Spain, Italy, in the 6th century Polabian Slavs populated the area. While Mecklenburg was settled by the Obotrites, Vorpommern was settled by the Veleti, along the coast, Vikings and Slavs established trade posts like Reric, Ralswiek and Menzlin. In the 12th century, Mecklenburg and Vorpommern were conquered by Henry the Lion and incorporated into the Duchy of Saxony, all of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was settled with Germans in the Ostsiedlung process, starting in the 12th century. In the late 12th century, Henry the Lion, Duke of the Saxons, conquered the Obotrites, subjugated its Nikloting dynasty, in the course of time, German monks, nobility, peasants and traders arrived to settle here. After the 12th century, the territory remained stable and relatively independent of its neighbours, Mecklenburg first became a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire in 1348. Though later partitioned and re-partitioned within the dynasty, Mecklenburg always shared a common history. The states of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz became Grand Duchies in 1815, Vorpommern, litererally Fore-Pomerania, is the smaller, western part of the former Prussian Province of Pomerania, the eastern part became part of Poland after the end of World War II. In the Middle Ages, the area was ruled by the Pomeranian dukes as part of the Duchy of Pomerania, Pomerania was under Swedish rule after the Peace of Westphalia from 1648 until 1815 as Swedish Pomerania. Pomerania became a province of Prussia in 1815 and remained so until 1945, wartime In May 1945, the armies of the Soviet Union and the Western allies met east of Schwerin

10.
3. Liga
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Liga, is the third division of football in Germany. The league started with the beginning of the 2008–09 season, when it replaced the Regionalliga as the third football league in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2, Bundesliga and the semi-professional Regionalliga, which became the fourth division and initially consisted of three groups of 18 clubs playing separately. Liga is the highest division that a football clubs reserve team can play in, on 8 September 2006, the German Football Association, the DFB, announced the formation of the 3. It was originally anticipated that the name would be 3. Bundesliga, but the DFB chose 3, Liga instead, reflecting the fact that the league will be directly administered by the DFB, not by the German Football League DFL who runs both Bundesliga and 2. The first match of the 3, Liga was played on 25 July 2008 between FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt and Dynamo Dresden at the Steigerwaldstadion in Erfurt. Dynamo Dresden won the match 1–0, with Halil Savran scoring the goal in the closing stages of the first half. From its foundation in 2008 to 2013 the league had been operating on a financial loss, the 2013–14 season saw the league make a profit for the first time, being €4.9 million in the plus. This makes it the third-most economically successful professional league in all German sports, the teams which are not reserve teams of Bundesliga teams among the 20 teams in the league compete for promotion to the 2. Bundesliga, while the three teams are relegated to one of the five Regionalligen, Regionalliga Nord, Regionalliga Nordost, Regionalliga West, Regionalliga Südwest. If, however, a team is playing in the 3. Liga and the respective first team is relegated to the 3, Liga, the reserve team will be relegated to the Regionalliga regardless of its league position. At the end of the 2007–08 season, the two best non-reserve teams from each of the two divisions of the Regionalliga were promoted to the 2, the teams ranked third to tenth in both Regionalliga entered the new 3. Liga, joining the four teams relegated from the 2, Bundesliga to form the new 20-team league. Teams finishing 11th or lower in their Regionalliga remained where they were, on 18 May 2008, at the end of the 2007–082. Bundesliga season, four clubs were relegated from the 2, Bundesliga and became charter members of the 3. Liga, Kickers Offenbach, FC Erzgebirge Aue, SC Paderborn 07, on 31 May 2008, at the end of the 2007–08 Regionalliga seasons, clubs placing third through tenth in the Regionalliga Nord and the Regionalliga Süd also qualified for the new 3

11.
Regionalliga
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The Regionalliga is the fourth tier of football in the German football league system. Until 1974, it was the second tier of the system before being disbanded. The Regionalliga was then re-introduced as the tier of the system in 1994. Upon introduction of a new nationwide 3, liga in 2008, it was demoted to the fourth level of the pyramid. From the introduction of the Bundesliga in 1963 until the formation of the 2, bundesligas, Süd and Nord became the second tier of German Football and the Regionalligas ceased existing for the next 20 years. In 1994, the Regionalligas were re-introduced, this time as the tier of German Football. There were initially four Regionalligas, Regionalliga Süd, Regionalliga West/Südwest, Regionalliga Nord, Regionalliga Nordost, Between 1994 and 2000, Bundesliga was regulated without much continuity. It was a rule, as becoming champion of a division did not automatically mean promotion for that team. The champions of the South and West/Southwest divisions were promoted, however. The champions of the North and Northeast divisions had a play-off to decide who would get the promotion spot. This rule was justified because there are clubs in the southern part of Germany than the north. This led to clubs in the Southern division being geographically further north than some northern clubs. The champions and the runners-up of both divisions were promoted to the 2, in 2008, the Regionalliga was demoted to become the fourth tier of football in Germany after the introduction of a new nationwide 3. This may lead to teams assigned to an other than their geographical one. An example for this is BV Cloppenburg, who was assigned to the Western division for the 2008–09 season despite being located in Niedersachsen, in October 2010, yet another reform of the Regionalligas was decided upon. The number of leagues were now to be expanded to five, with the defunct Regionalliga Nordost to be reestablished and a Regionalliga Bayern to be established. Also, the Regionalliga West would lose the clubs from the south west to a new league, formed out of those clubs, the new system is due to come into operation in the 2012–13 season. It was also decided to limit the number of teams per Regionalliga to seven

12.
Rostock
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Rostock is the largest city in the north German state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rostock is on the Warnow river, the district of Warnemünde 12 kilometres north of the city centre is directly on the Baltic Sea coast, Rostock is home to one of the oldest universities in the world, the University of Rostock, founded in 1419. The city territory of Rostock stretches for about 20 km along the Warnow to the Baltic Sea, the largest built-up area of Rostock is on the western side of the river. The eastern part of its territory is dominated by industrial estates, Rostock is considered as the only regiopolis in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc, the Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161. Afterwards the place was settled by German traders, initially there were three separate cities, Altstadt around the Alter Markt with St. Petri, Mittelstadt around the Neuer Markt with St. Marien and Neustadt around the Hopfenmarkt with St. Jakobi. In 1218, Rostock was granted Lübeck law city rights by Heinrich Borwin, during the first partition of Mecklenburg following the death of Henry Borwin II of Mecklenburg in 1226, Rostock became the seat of the Lordship of Rostock, which survived for almost a century. In 1251, the city became a member of the Hanseatic League, in the 14th century it was a powerful seaport town with 12,000 inhabitants and the biggest city of Mecklenburg. Ships for cruising the Baltic Sea were constructed in Rostock, the formerly independent fishing village of Warnemünde at the Baltic Sea became a part of Rostock in 1323, to secure the citys access to the Baltic Sea. In 1419, one of the earliest universities in Europe, the University of Rostock, was founded and they took advantage of a riot known as Domfehde, a failed uprising of the impoverished population. Subsequent quarrels with the dukes and persistent plundering led ultimately to a loss of economic, in 1565 there were further clashes with Schwerin that which had far-reaching consequences. Among other things, was the introduction of a beer excise that favoured the dukes. John Albert I advanced on the city with 500 horsemen, after Rostock had refused to take the oath of allegiance. The citizens slighted the fortress the following spring, from 1575 to 1577 the city walls were rebuilt, as was the Lagebusch tower and the Stein Gate in the Dutch Renaissance style. The inscription sit intra te concordia et publica felicitas, which can still be read on the gate, in 1584 it finally came to the Second Rostock Inheritance Agreement, which resulted in a further loss of former tax privileges. At the same time, these inheritance contracts put paid to Rostocks ambition of achieving imperial immediacy as Lübeck had done in 1226, the strategic location of Rostock provoked the envy of its rivals. Danes and Swedes occupied the city twice, first during the Thirty Years War, later, the French, under Napoleon, occupied the town for about a decade until 1813. In nearby Lübeck-Ratekau, Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, who was born in Rostock and this was only after furious street fighting in the Battle of Lübeck, in which he led some of the cavalry charges himself

13.
Neubrandenburg
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Neubrandenburg is a city in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the shore of a lake called Tollensesee, Neubrandenburg is nicknamed for its four medieval city gates - Stadt der Vier Tore. It is part of the European Route of Brick Gothic, a route leads through seven countries along the Baltic Sea coast. Since 2011, Neubrandenburg is the capital of the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district and it is the third-largest city and one of the main urban centres of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The city is a power node of northeastern Germany, featuring one of the highest national ranks in employment density. The closest greater urban areas are the regiopolis of Rostock and the metropolises of Szczecin, Berlin, since 1991, Neubrandenburg hosts a University of Applied Sciences that also offers international exchanges, guest programs and studies. The first settlers at the place were Premonstratensian monks in Broda Abbey, the foundation of the city of Neubrandenburg took place in 1248, when the Margrave of Brandenburg decided to build a settlement in the northern part of his fief. In 1292 the city and the area became part of Mecklenburg. The city flourished as a trade centre until the Thirty Years War, during the dramatic advance of the Swedish army of Gustavus Adolphus into Germany, the city was garrisoned by Swedes, but it was retaken by Imperial Catholic League forces in 1631. During this operation it was reported that the Catholic forces killed many of the Swedish and Scottish soldiers while they were surrendering. The city, therefore, played a role in the escalation of brutality of one of historys most brutal wars. During the Second World War, a large camp, Stalag II-A, was located close to the city. In 1945, few days before the end of the Second World War, in that course, about 600 people committed suicide. Since then, most buildings of historical relevance have been rebuilt, Neubrandenburg was a bezirk centre between 1952 and 1990. See also, Media related to Cultural heritage monuments in Neubrandenburg at Wikimedia Commons Neubrandenburg has preserved its medieval city wall in its entirety. The wall,7 m high and with a perimeter of 2.3 km has four Brick Gothic city gates, of these, one of the most impressive is the Stargarder Tor, with its characteristic gable-like shape and the filigree tracery and rosettes on the outer defence side. Another place of interest is the Brick Gothic Marienkirche, completed 1298, the church was nearly destroyed in 1945, but it has been restored since 1975 to house a concert hall. The tallest highrise in the city is the 56m Haus der Kultur und Bildung and its slender appearance has earned it the nickname Kulturfinger

14.
Schwerin
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Schwerin is the capital and second-largest city of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The population is 91,583 and 98.000 as of July 2016, Schwerin was first mentioned in 1018 and was granted city rights in 1160, thus it is the oldest city of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It is known for its romantic Schwerin Palace, crowning an island in the Lake Schwerin, the city also has a largely intact old town, thanks to only minor damage in World War II. Schwerin is located within the region of Hamburg and close to that of Berlin. The largest of these lakes, the Schweriner See, has an area of 60 km2, in the midst of these lakes there was a settlement of the Slavic Obotrite. The area was called Zuarin, and the name Schwerin is derived from that designation, in 1160, Henry the Lion defeated the Obotrites and captured Schwerin. The town was expanded into a powerful regional centre. A castle was built on site, and expanded to become a ducal palace. It is supposedly haunted by the small, impious ghost, called Petermännchen, in 1358, Schwerin became a part of the Duchy of Mecklenburg, making it the seat of the duchy from then on. About 1500, the construction of the Schwerin Palace began, as a residence for the dukes, after the division of Mecklenburg, Schwerin became the capital of the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Between 1765 and 1837, the town of Ludwigslust served as the capital, in the mid-1800s, many residents from Schwerin moved to the United States, many to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Today Milwaukee and Schwerin are sister cities, after 1918, and during the German Revolution, resulting in the fall of all the German monarchies, the Grand Duke abdicated. Schwerin became capital of the Free State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern thereafter, at the end of World War II, on 2 May 1945, Schwerin was taken by U. S. troops. Schwerin was then in the Soviet Occupation Zone which was to become the German Democratic Republic, initially, it was the capital of the State of Mecklenburg which at that time included the western part of Pomerania. After the states were dissolved in the GDR, in 1952, after reunification in 1990, the former state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was recreated as one of the Bundesländer. Rostock was a contender for state capital but the decision went in favour of Schwerin. City buses and trams are run by NVS, Schwerin Hauptbahnhof is connected by rail to Berlin, Hamburg and Rostock. The landmark of the city is the Schwerin Palace, located on an island in the lake of the same name and it was, for centuries, the residence of the Dukes of Mecklenburg and today is the seat of the Landtag

15.
Regierungsbezirk
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Regierungsbezirk is an administrative region at federal state level in Germany. The regional authority is called a Regierungspräsidium or Bezirksregierung and is headed by a Regierungspräsident, the Regierungsbezirke do not pass any legislation. Within the federal authority, they act as a mid-level agency. Regierungsbezirk is variously translated as district, administrative district or province. By German unification in 1871, the concept of Regierungsbezirke had been adopted by most States of the German Empire, the Regierungsbezirke of North Rhine-Westphalia are in direct continuation of those created in the Prussian Rhine and Westphalia provinces in 1816. Similar entities in other states were initially named Kreishauptmannschaft or Kreis or province in Hesse, in Nazi Germany the naming was unified to Regierungsbezirk. Currently, only four large-area states out of 16 in total are divided into Regierungsbezirke, on 1 January 2004, Saxony-Anhalt disbanded its three Regierungsbezirke, Dessau, Halle and Magdeburg. The responsibilities are now covered by a Landesverwaltungsamt with three offices at the seats of the Bezirksregierungen. On 1 January 2005, Lower Saxony disbanded its remaining four Regierungsbezirke, Brunswick, Hanover, Lüneburg, on 1 August 2008, Saxony restructured its districts and changed the name of its Regierungsbezirke to Direktionsbezirke. This was necessary because one of the new districts did not fit with the borders of the old Regierungsbezirke, the Direktionsbezirke are still named Chemnitz, Dresden and Leipzig. As of 1 March 2012, the Direktionsbezirke were merged into one Landesdirektion, four of the new federal states re-established in 1990, Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Thuringia, decided not to implement Regierungsbezirke. In Bremen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Saarland they never existed, stettin, dissolved in 1945, Province of Pomerania Media related to Regierungsbezirk at Wikimedia Commons

16.
DDR-Liga
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The DDR-Liga was, prior to German reunification in 1990, the second level of football competition in the DDR, being roughly equivalent to the Bundesliga in West Germany. The league was established two divisions of ten teams each in 1950 as the level of play below the DDR-Oberliga. It remained the second tier in various configurations throughout its existence until it was disbanded in 1991, the champion of each division was directly promoted to the Oberliga. While not having geographical tags attached to the division, Staffel 1 was originally equivalent to a Northern Division while Staffel 2 was the Southern Division. The system was not static however, clubs were moved between groups to balance out league numbers, and sometimes also for political reasons. In the same way, clubs were moved between cities out of a variety of reasons. In its second season, the divisions were expanded to twelve teams each, the year 1954 saw the creation of a third group, Staffel 3, making geographical categorizing more difficult, but essentially One was north, Two was south and Three was central. The league system changed completely in 1955, East Germany followed the example of the Soviet Union and switched to a calendar year system, resulting in a shortened autumn competition for 1955 only with a single division, fourteen-team format. From the 1956 season the league continued to operate as a single format with the top two teams gaining promotion. After the 1960 season, the league reverted to the system of playing from autumn to spring. This meant that the 1961-62 season, as a transition season, the year after, the league returned to two divisions, North and South, still with fourteen clubs each and the winners gaining promotion. In 1963, the two divisions were expanded to sixteen clubs each, the year after, all five divisions had twelve clubs. The new system meant that not all league winners could be directly promoted, instead, the five champions played a promotion round with the top two teams gaining entry to the Oberliga. Until 1976, reserve teams of Oberliga clubs were permitted in the DDR-Liga and they were then banned from entering the second tier in order to increase the appeal of the leagues as attendance for matches involving reserve teams in Germany never were particularly high. This also resulted in the promotion round now definitely being played by the league champions, previously, when one of the five divisions was won by a reserve team, the best placed first team from the division was entered in the promotion round. The year 1984 saw the DDR-Liga revert to a system, now with eighteen clubs per division. Also, reserve teams were re-admitted to the league but still barred from promotion to the Oberliga, the 1989-90 season was the last under the old East German system, in the following season the league operated under the name of NOFV-Liga, meaning Nordostdeutscher Fussballverband-Liga. The majority of clubs moved away from their, mostly communist, background, in its final season, 1990–91, the league was under the authority of the DFB, the German Football Association

17.
East Germany
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East Germany, formally the German Democratic Republic, was an Eastern Bloc state during the Cold War period. The Soviet zone surrounded West Berlin, but did not include it, as a result, the German Democratic Republic was established in the Soviet Zone, while the Federal Republic was established in the three western zones. East Germany, which lies culturally in Central Germany, was a state of the Soviet Union. Soviet occupation authorities began transferring administrative responsibility to German communist leaders in 1948, Soviet forces, however, remained in the country throughout the Cold War. Until 1989, the GDR was governed by the Socialist Unity Party, though other parties participated in its alliance organisation. The economy was centrally planned, and increasingly state-owned, prices of basic goods and services were set by central government planners, rather than rising and falling through supply and demand. Although the GDR had to pay war reparations to the USSR. Nonetheless it did not match the growth of West Germany. Emigration to the West was a significant problem—as many of the emigrants were well-educated young people, the government fortified its western borders and, in 1961, built the Berlin Wall. Many people attempting to flee were killed by guards or booby traps. In 1989, numerous social and political forces in the GDR and abroad led to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the following year open elections were held, and international negotiations led to the signing of the Final Settlement treaty on the status and borders of Germany. The GDR was dissolved and Germany was unified on 3 October 1990, internally, the GDR also bordered the Soviet sector of Allied-occupied Berlin known as East Berlin which was also administered as the states de facto capital. It also bordered the three sectors occupied by the United States, United Kingdom and France known collectively as West Berlin. The three sectors occupied by the Western nations were sealed off from the rest of the GDR by the Berlin Wall from its construction in 1961 until it was brought down in 1989, the official name was Deutsche Demokratische Republik, usually abbreviated to DDR. West Germans, the media and statesmen purposely avoided the official name and its abbreviation, instead using terms like Ostzone, Sowjetische Besatzungszone. The centre of power in East Berlin was referred to as Pankow. Over time, however, the abbreviation DDR was also used colloquially by West Germans. However, this use was not always consistent, for example, before World War II, Ostdeutschland was used to describe all the territories east of the Elbe, as reflected in the works of sociologist Max Weber and political theorist Carl Schmitt

18.
Landesliga
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The Landesliga is a tier of football in some of the states of Germany. In Bavaria, Saxony, Thuringia, Bremen, Lower Saxony, in the Middle Rhine and Lower Rhine regions of North Rhine-Westphalia it is also, since 2012, the sixth tier. In Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, in the Saarland, the Landesligas are set as the eighth tier. Typically, in each Bundesland, the Landesligas are split up into different Staffeln or divisions, in Bavaria, the Landesliga is split up into five divisions, South-West, South-East, Central, North-West, and North-East. In Saxony, Bremen, and Thuringia, the Landesliga is in a single division format, in Hamburg, it consists of two divisions. In 2017, Schleswig-Holstein will introduce Landesligas at the sixth tier, the Rheinland region of Rhineland-Palatinate also operates without such a league. In Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia the league below the Landesligas is the Landesklasse, also in 2017, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern will reduce the number of Landesligas and Landesklasses to 2 and 4 divisions respectively. This was done so simply by choice of the football associations in Saxony and Thuringia. Bavaria does not have this option however, since its Landesligas are not the highest leagues in the Verband and this position is held by the Oberligas in this state. Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv DFB, State Associations

19.
Berlin-Liga
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The Berlin-Liga is the highest league for football teams exclusively in the German capital. Since German reunification in 1990, it is the highest level of football in Berlin. After the 2007–08 season the Verbandsliga was renamed Berlin-Liga and it is the sixth tier of the German football league system. Until the introduction of the 3, liga in 2008 it was the fifth tier of the league system, until the introduction of the Regionalligen in 1994 the fourth tier. The Berlin-Liga was formed in 1992 as the Verbandsliga Berlin from sixteen clubs in West and East Berlin

20.
Brandenburg-Liga
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The Brandenburg-Liga is the highest league for football teams exclusively in the German state of Brandenburg and at step-six of the German football league system. Until the introduction of the 3, liga in 2008 it was the fifth tier of the league system, until the introduction of the Regionalligas in 1994 the fourth tier. The champions of the Brandenburg-Liga are directly promoted to the NOFV-Oberliga Nord and it comprised the area of the three Bezirksligas of Potsdam, Frankfurt and Cottbus. Each of those three Bezirke contributed four clubs to the new league, with one coming from the 2nd Division. The Verbandsliga was established within the East German football league system and incorporated in the system of the united Germany after the end of its first season. The league was a league to the NOFV-Oberliga Nord, together with the Berlin-Liga and Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. As such, it was the fourth tier of the German league system, the Brandenburg Football Association itself was formed on 28 July 1990. The league expanded to sixteen clubs in its season and this number remained as the preferred strength of the league. With the introduction of the Regionalliga Nordost as third tier of the system in 1994. In 2008, the league again was demoted one level when the 3, however, this changed nothing in the leagues status as a feeder league to the NOFV-Oberliga. The league champions, The league was established from thirteen clubs from four leagues in 1990. Most of the East German clubs changed their names in the years after the reunion, some reverted to their old ones after a period, current names. FC Schwedt, disbanded in 1997, reformed as FC Schwedt 02 Stahl Finow, now 1

21.
Regionalliga Nordost
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The Regionalliga Nordost is the fourth tier of the German football league system in the states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia. These comprise the states of former East Germany as well as West-Berlin, as such, its territorial cover is almost identical to the old DDR-Oberliga. It is one of five leagues at the tier, together with the Regionalliga Bayern, Regionalliga Südwest, Regionalliga Nord. From 1994 to 2000 it was part of the third tier, the last of these occurred in 2012, which saw the Regionalliga Nordost reinstated. The Regionalliga Nordost was formed in 1994 to form a third level of play between the 2. Bundesliga and the NOFV-Oberligas Nord, Mitte and Süd, the league was made up of 18 clubs, with two coming from the 2nd Bundesliga and six each from Mitte and Nord while the south only sent four. It was formed three other Regionalligas, the Regionalliga Nord, West/Südwest and Süd. With the introduction of the Regionalliga also went the disbanding of the division of the NOFV-Oberligas. Its clubs were spread between the remaining two, the founding members of the Regionalliga Nordost were, From the 2. The league winner was not always promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga, the champions of the Regionalligas Nord and Nordost had to play-off for a spot in the 2nd Bundesliga from 1996 to 2000. The winner of this contest was promoted, the loser faced the runners-ups of the Regionalligas Süd, in 1997, Energie Cottbus became the first club from the Regionalliga to reach a German Cup final, losing 2-0 to VfB Stuttgart. The league was disbanded after six seasons, in 2000, the number of Regionalligas was reduced from four to two. Most clubs from the league went to the Regionalliga Nord, some clubs from the south went to the Regionalliga Süd, the Regionalliga Nordost was not recreated, however. Instead, its clubs remained in the Regionalliga Nord, teams from its region playing in the Regionalliga Süd moved to the northern group as well, unless they qualified for the 2nd or 3rd Bundesliga. The other eleven teams were relegated to the NOFV-Oberligas. The number of leagues was expanded to five. The defunct Regionalliga Nordost was reestablished and a Regionalliga Bayern was established, also, the Regionalliga West lost the clubs from the south west to a new league, formed out of those clubs and clubs from Regionalliga Süd outside Bavaria. The new system came into operation at the beginning of the 2012–13 season, the number of reserve teams per Regionalliga was limited to seven

22.
NOFV-Oberliga
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The NOFV-Oberliga is a division at step 5 of the German football league system. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, it became the successor of the DDR-Oberliga, and functions today as a 5th division in the territory of East Germany. This league is named after the Nordostdeutscher Fußballverband, the association of the DFB in the former East German territories. The league is split in two groups, north and south, the NOFV-Oberliga Nord and NOFV-Oberliga Süd. A third league, the NOFV-Oberliga Mitte existed from 1991 to 1994, the NOFV-Oberliga developed after the entry of the Deutscher Fußball-Verband to the Deutscher Fußball-Bund. It was the successor of the DDR-Oberliga and functioned as the division in the former East Germany for this season only. FC Hansa Rostock became champions of that league, with Dynamo Dresden being the runners-up, thereby both acquired the starting rights for the 1991–92 Bundesliga season. The following teams qualified directly for the 2, Bundesliga, FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt Hallesche FC Chemie Chemnitzer FC FC Carl Zeiss Jena These two teams qualified indirectly through a playoff round,1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig BSV Stahl Brandenburg All remaining clubs continued to play in the NOFV-Oberliga and this became the third-highest division starting with the 1991–92 season. During these three seasons the NOFV-Oberliga was the third-highest league in German football, at this time it consisted of three divisions, North, Central and South. Overall there were 10 Oberligen in Germany at the time, at the end of the season, the Oberliga champions had a play-off for promotion to the 2. The bottom two teams of division were relegated to the Landesligen. Division champions and promotion to 2, Bundesliga, 1991–92, Champion North, Berliner FC Dynamo – Champion Central,1. FC Union Berlin – Champion South, FSV Zwickau 1992–93, Champion North and promoted, FC Union Berlin – Champion South, FC Sachsen Leipzig 1993–94, Champion North, BSV Brandenburg – Champion Central,1. FC Union Berlin – Champion South and promoted, FSV Zwickau With the introduction of the Regionalliga the NOFV-Oberliga became the 4th level of the pyramid starting with the 1994–95 season, the number of divisions was reduced by one so that only North and South remained. Today it is the highest amateur division, the champions of both divisions were promoted directly to Regionalliga until Regionalliga was reduced from 4 to 2 divisions from the 1999–2000 season. Due to that change, there was no promotion from Oberliga in the 1998–99, starting with the 1999–2000 season promotion was decided by a two-leg playoff between the division champions. This rule was scrapped for the 2005–06 season, so that both division champions will be promoted to Regionalliga at the end of this season

23.
F.C. Hansa Rostock
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F. C. Hansa Rostock is a German association football club based in the city of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. They have emerged as one of the most successful clubs from the former East Germany and have made appearances in the top-flight Bundesliga. After being in the Bundesliga for ten years, from 1995 to 2005, in 2012, the club was relegated to the 3. Liga for the time and is now playing there for the fifth consecutive season. The club was established on 1 November 1954 as the multi-sport Sportclub Empor Rostock, the wholesale transfer of the Lauterers to Rostock part way through the 1954–55 season led to the disappearance of that association from play. A new club was formed in 1956 as BSG Motor Lauter and on 1 August 1990, newly formed SC Empor Rostock took the place of the former Lauter-based club in first division play in November 1954. They finished second the season, but in 1956 plunged to 14th place and were relegated. The new clubs name acknowledged Rostocks history as one of the trading centres of northern Europes Hanseatic League. This is their top flight title to date in play in East Germany or the unified Germany. They also captured the last ever East German Cup with a 1–0 win over FC Stahl Eisenhüttenstadt, Hansa, however, was unable to stay up and was relegated after falling just a single point shy of SG Wattenscheid 09. Three seasons of tempering in the 2, Bundesliga would return the club to the top flight for the 1995–96 season. In ten years spent in the Bundesliga, the teams best results were a pair of sixth-place finishes. In spite of frequent placings in the bottom-half of the league table, on 1 December 2002, Rostock became the first club to field six foreigners from the same country in a Bundesliga match. Rostock had a poor first half in the 2004–05 season. After two years in the 2, Bundesliga, the club returned to the top-flight for the 2007–08 season, but was again relegated. The clubs poor form continued in 2009–10 and they finished third-last, with this season, a new promotion/relegation format accompanied the introduction of the 3. Liga and Rostock found itself in a playoff versus the third place third division club FC Ingolstadt, Hansa lost both legs of the contest and was sent down to the 3. Liga, while Ingolstadt won promotion to the 2, Bundesliga alongside the top two third tier teams which advanced automatically by virtue of their finishes

24.
TSG Neustrelitz
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TSG Neustrelitz is a German association football club from Neustrelitz, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The football side is part of a club that also has departments for gymnastics. The earliest roots of the association go back to the founding of the football club Neustrelitzer Fußball Club which soon grew into a general sports club known as Neustrelitzer Sportverein. The sports club failed after 1919, but the football department immediately re-established themselves as Ballspielverein Neustrelitz, a second local football club known as SV Viktoria Neustrelitz was formed in 1925 and was joined by BV the following year. The club took on its current name in 1975 after being disassociated from its industrial sponsor, the club made several ascents to the second division DDR-Liga, but was never able to firmly establish itself at that level of play. In 1963 it appeared that BSG had won its way through a round to the DDR-Liga. After being promoted in 1964 Neutrelitz would play its way to the 1/8 final of the East German Cup despite a last place finish in league competition. The team lost a close contest there by a score of 1,2 to FC Carl Zeiss Jena, after German re-unification in 1990 TSG played in the Landesliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern winning promotion to the Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in 1996. They immediately claimed the title there, again winning promotion, this time to the NOFV-Oberliga Nord and they struggled through three seasons at that level and after a 16th place finish were demoted to the Verbandliga where they spent two years. Neutrelitz re-claimed a place in the Oberliga in 2002, ten years later Neustrelitz reached the re-formed Regionalliga Nordost, which they won in 2014, but missed promotion to the 3. Liga after a defeat to FSV Mainz 05 II in the playoff and its second team squad uses the adjacent Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion. As of 29 July 2016 Note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Official team site Abseits Guide to German Soccer Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv historical German football league tables

25.
FC Anker Wismar
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FC Anker Wismar is a German association football club based in Wismar, Germany, currently playing in the Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The clubs origins date back to 1904 when FC Elite Wismar were established, the following year, the club was renamed to Wismarer FC1905. From 1909 the club was known as Germania Wismar and during the World War II, on each occasion the club won promotion to the NOFV-Oberliga Nord but was relegated back to the Verbandsliga again the previous three times after a short time. The clubs honours, Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Champions,2000,2004,2010,2015 FC Anker Wismar

26.
Torgelower SV Greif
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Torgelower SV Greif is a German football club from the city of Torgelow in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The football team is part of a club which also has departments for womens sport, table tennis. The club was established in 1919 as Greif Torgelow and after World War II resumed play in East Germany as BSG Motor Torgelow in the third tier Berzirksliga Neubrandenburg, through the 50s they would play as Motor or as Stahl Torgelow and generally earn upper table finishes. Their performance began to slip in the early 60s and they delivered only mid-table results, in 1963 they were renamed Nord Max Matern Torgelow and would play as NMM or simply Nord Torgelow until after German reunification in 1990. In 1971 the team won its first promotion to the second division DDR-Liga and spent most of the decade as an elevator side moving up and they were eligible for promotion again in 1984 but failed to advance through a playoff. Nord Torgelow gave up its name in 1990 to again take on the historical club name Torgelower SV Greif. After the merger of the leagues of the two Germanys in the early 1990s, Greif played as a lower division side until moving up to the Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in 1994. They played there as a middling side until an exciting 2003–04 campaign saw the club close to breaking through to the NOFV-Oberliga Nord. The next season the club captured the title to earn promotion to the countrys highest amateur class. The club played in the Oberliga for the seven seasons, winning the league in 2011. At the end of the season the club qualified for the new Regionalliga Nordost where it played for a season until relegated again in 2013. Back in the Oberliga the club dropped another level in 2014 and now plays in the Verbandsliga again

27.
Greifswalder SV 04
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Greifswalder SV04 was a German association football club from the city of Greifswald, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The club was formed out of the merger of SSV Grün-Schwarz Greifswald, ESV/Empor Greifswald, in addition to its football side the club had departments for athletics, badminton, basketball, dance and rhythmic gymnastics. The merger of the three clubs made SV the second-largest club in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania with some 1400 members, the club had a strong focus on youth football and had links to a number of area schools. It also had a DFB-affiliated training centre and had sent on several players to FC Hansa Rostock, in March 2015 the club decided to merge with FC Pommern Greifswald to form Greifswalder FC. Until the end of the 2002–03 season, the biggest club in Greifswald was Greifswalder SC, the club merged in 2003 with ESV Greifswald for financial reasons and thereby dissolved. Through ESV, Greifswalder SV04 is therefore carrying on with SCs tradition, SC played its last game on 31 May 2003, beating SV Blau Weiss Polz 5–2. The new club played in the tier five Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern until 2007 when a championship took it up to the NOFV-Oberliga Nord. It finished fourth in the league in its first season there, since then the club had been playing in the Verbandsliga again until the merger with FC Pommern in 2015. Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Champions,2007 Andreas Zachhuber Jens Dowe Andreas Zachhuber Norbert Toller Grüne, kassel, AGON Sportverlag ISBN 3-89784-147-9 Abseits Guide to German Soccer

28.
1. FC Neubrandenburg 04
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FC Neubrandenburg 04 is a German football club based in Neubrandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, currently playing in the NOFV-Oberliga Nord. FC Neubrandenburg 04 was founded in 1947 as SG Fritz Reuter Neubrandenburg, Turbine Neubrandenburg reached the second tier DDR-Liga of East Germany in the 1954–55 season and 10 years later, as SC Neubrandenburg, even played one season in the top-flight DDR-Oberliga. From 1965 until 1990 the club was known as BSG Post Neubrandenburg, until 1999, the club was known as FC Neubrandenburg when it became FC Tollense Neubrandenburg after a merger with SV Tollense Neubrandenburg, and finally in 2004, the club was established as 1. FC Neubrandenburg 04 plays its home fixtures at the 2,500 capacity Ligaplatz am Jahnstadion

29.
FC Pommern Stralsund
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FC Pommern Stralsund is a German association football club from the city of Stralsund, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The transfer marked the return of a club that was moved to Rostock in the 1950s, after another single season turn in the Oberliga Stralsund captured another pair of DDR-Liga titles over the next seven years, while finishing as runners-up five times. They failed to win their way back to first division play in two attempts in 1977 and 1982, the clubs run of strong performances ended and they spent the following seven seasons as a mid-table side. Throughout this period from 1968–89 ASG took part each year in FDGB-Pokal play, in 1989, the team joined BSG Motor Stralsund which took up the place of ASG in the DDR-Liga. On 17 July 1990, on the eve of the reunification of Germany, on 11 May 1994, the footballers left TSV to become part of present-day side FC Pommern Stralsund. The club was initially a side in the Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. For the most part, it finished in the top six of the league, however a finish in second-last place in the 2005–06 season meant relegation to the Landesliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern-Ost. The club has been playing in the Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern – now a sixth tier side after the introduction of the 3, liga – finishing 12th in 2015–16. The TSV1860 Stralsund no longer fields a team, it last played in the Landesliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Nord. It finished at 14th and last, but was not relegated as it withdrew, the clubs honours, DDR-Liga Champions Northern division,1971 Champions A division,1973,1974,1977,1982 The recent seasons of the club, Official team site

30.
Kicker (sports magazine)
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Kicker Sportmagazin is Germanys leading sports magazine and is focused primarily on football. The magazine was founded in 1920 by German football pioneer Walther Bensemann and is published twice a week, usually Monday and Thursday, the Monday edition sells an average of 240,000 copies, while the Thursday edition has an average circulation of about 220,000 copies. The magazine also publishes a yearbook, the kicker Almanach and it was first published from 1937 to 1942, and then continuously from 1959 to date. The magazine kicker first appeared in July 1920 in Konstanz, Germany, the magazine headquarters was originally in Stuttgart but moved to Nürnberg in 1926. During World War II, the merged with the publication Fußball. After the war, the magazine was published by the newly incorporated Olympia-Verlag publishing company. Former chief editor Friedebert Becker again began publishing kicker in 1951, in 1966, kicker was sold to Axel Springer AG. In 1968, Olympia-Verlag in Nuremberg acquired kicker and merged it with Sportmagazin, the first issue of the newly founded kicker-sportmagazin was released on 7 October 1968. Beside the two publications, kicker provides a digital edition since 2012. The online version of kicker. de offers a live ticker for over 80 different international leagues. A mobile version of kicker. de can be found among others in the portal of T-Mobile, Vodafone, O2. In addition, the magazine has three apps in the iTunes store. The modern version of kicker covers a number of sporting competitions and events, including, kicker annually awards the most prolific scorer of the Bundesliga with the kicker Torjägerkanone award. It is equivalent to the Pichichi Trophy in Spanish football

31.
Verbandsliga
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The Verbandsliga is usually a tier-six football league in the German football league system, covering the area of a Bundesland or a regional part of such Bundesland. Therefore the Verbandsliga does not exist in every Bundesland, north Rhine-Westphalia, Rheinland-Palatinate, and Baden-Württemberg are divided into two or three state member associations, each running their own league system. Additionally, in regions or states, as there are Hesse, Westphalia. In recent years, a number of leagues have dropped the Verband out of their league name, the Verbandsliga Mittelrhein became the Mittelrheinliga and the Verbandsliga Niederrhein became the Niederrheinliga, with both leagues elevated to Oberliga status in 2012. The Verbandsligas, Some of the Verbandsligen have existed prior to their formation date under a different name. Dates given are when the changed to the name Verbandsliga. 1 The Verbandsliga Saarland is only a league from 2009 onwards. 2 The Westfalenliga is operated in two groups with teams probably re-allocated according to geographical needs every new season. The four groups of Landesliga below the can feed either Westfalenliga group according to geographical needs,3 The Verbandsliga Schleswig-Holstein will become a tier-seven league after 2017 with the introduction of the Landesliga Schleswig-Holstein as the new tier-six league. The German Football State Associations at DFB. de

32.
Verbandsliga Baden
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The Verbandsliga Baden is a German amateur football division administered by the Badenian Football Association, one of the 21 German state football associations. Being the top flight of the Baden state association, the Verbandsliga is currently a level 6 division of the German football league system. The league was formed as Amateurliga Nordbaden in 1945 in the half of the then state of Baden. It was a league to the Oberliga Süd and therefore the second tier of the football league system in the south of Germany until the interception of the 2nd Oberliga Süd in 1950. From 1950 until the establishment of the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg in 1978, the winner of the Amateurliga Nordbaden was not automatically promoted but rather had to take part in a promotion play-off to its league above. Usually, the champion would have to compete with the winners of the Amateurligas Südbaden, Württemberg, the separation of Nordbaden and Südbaden results from the outcome of World War II when the state was split into two separate occupation zones. The north was in the US zone and the south in the French zone, the official names for the two FAs reflect the separation of Südbaden from the original association, with Nordbaden just simply calling itself Baden FA. The league was established in 1945 with ten teams, the winner gaining promotion to the Oberliga Süd, the founder members were, VfL Neckarau VfB Knielingen VfB Mühlburg VfR Pforzheim ASV Feudenheim SpVgg Sandhofen Amicitia Viernheim FV Daxlanden Phönix Mannheim 1. FC Pforzheim The league was split into a northern and a group from 1946 to 1948. With the introduction of the Bundesliga in 1963 the Amateurliga was placed below the new Regionalliga Süd and it continued to do so after the introduction of the 2nd Bundesliga Süd in 1974. The longest continuous member of the league was the SV Sandhausen which gained promotion to it in 1957, the VfR Pforzheim spent a record of 28 out of 33 possible seasons in the league. At the same time as the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg was introduced in 1978, the top five teams out of the Amateurliga went to the new Oberliga while the rest of the teams found themselves in the Verbandsliga. The league was now set at four of the league system. The winner of the Verbandsliga gains direct promotion to the Oberliga, the runners-up must play-off against the runners-up of the Verbandsliga Südbaden. The winner of this play-off has to face the runners-up of the Verbandsliga Württemberg for the final Oberliga spot, in 1981 no extra spot and in 1994 three extra spots were available due to league format changes. Feeder leagues to the Verbandsliga Nordbaden Landesliga Mittelbaden Landesliga Odenwald Landesliga Rhein/Neckar The term Verbandsliga translates as Football Association League, there are 21 Football Associations within the German Association German Football Association, Nordbaden being one of them. The league champions of the league, Source, Verbandsliga Nordbaden, in 1950, three teams were promoted to the new 2nd Oberliga Süd. In 1965, the VfR Pforzheim gained promotion as runners–up as the team of Karlsruher SC was ineligible

33.
Verbandsliga Hessen-Nord
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The Verbandsliga Hessen-Nord, until 2008 named Landesliga Hessen-Nord, is currently the sixth tier of the German football league system. Until the introduction of the 3, liga in 2008 it was the fifth tier of the league system, and until the introduction of the Regionalligas in 1994 it was the fourth tier. The Verbandsliga Hessen-Nord was formed in 1965 as the Landesliga Hessen-Nord, the Verbandsliga Hessen-Nord is fed by the Gruppenliga Hessen-Fulda, Hessen-Kassel Gruppe 1 and Hessen-Kassel Gruppe 2. The winners of those divisions are promoted to the Verbandsliga. Up until 1973 it was common for teams to move between Landesligen, resulting in the fact that teams have won titles in two different Landesligen. The region covered by the Verbandsliga Hessen-Nord is not traditionally a part of the Southern German Football Association, along with the renaming of the Oberliga Hessen to Hessenliga in 2008, the Landesliga was renamed Verbandsliga Hessen-Nord. Five of those however were won by their reserve team

34.
Verbandsliga Hessen-Mitte
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The Verbandsliga Hessen-Mitte, until 2008 named Landesliga Hessen-Mitte, is currently the sixth tier of the German football league system. Until the introduction of the 3, liga in 2008 it was the fifth tier of the league system, until the introduction of the Regionalligas in 1994 the fourth tier. The Verbandsliga Hessen-Mitte was formed in 1965 as the Landesliga Hessen-Mitte, the Verbandsliga Hessen-Mitte is fed by the Gruppenliga Hessen-Wiesbaden, and Hessen-Gießen/Marburg. The winners of those are automatically promoted to the Verbandsliga, the runners-up play-off for another promotion spot, up until 1973 it was common for teams to move between Landesligen, resulting in the fact that some teams have won titles in two different Landesligen. Along with the renaming of the Oberliga Hessen to Hessenliga in 2008, only SpVgg Bad Homburg hold the same number of titles but those were won in the other two Landesligen – Mitte and Süd

35.
Verbandsliga Sachsen-Anhalt
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The Verbandsliga Sachsen-Anhalt is the sixth tier of the German football league system and the highest league in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Until the introduction of the 3, liga in 2008 it was the fifth tier of the league system, until the introduction of the Regionalligas in 1994 the fourth tier. It compromised the area of the two Bezirksligen of Magdeburg and Halle, each of those two Bezirke contributed seven clubs to the new league, with one club each coming from the 2nd Division. The Verbandsliga was established within the East German football league system and incorporated in the system of the united Germany after the end of its first season. The league expanded to sixteen clubs in its season with two teams relegated. In the 1994-95 season it returned to fourteen clubs, then expanded to eighteen with three relegated teams, a setup it retained for most seasons since. Originally, the league was positioned below the NOFV-Oberliga Mitte, together with some of the clubs from the two halves of Berlin, as such, it was the fourth tier of the German league system. With this change in the system in 1994 went the introduction of the Regionalliga Nordost as third tier of the league system which meant the Verbandsligen slipped to fifth tier. In 2008, the league again was demoted one level when the 3, however, this changed nothing in the leagues status as a feeder league to the NOFV-Oberliga. Three clubs so far have spent time in exile,1, FC Lok Stendal FC Anhalt Dessau, club now ASG Vorwärts Dessau Due to changes in the German league system, the 2007-08 runners-up 1. FC Magdeburg II also had the chance to promotion, having to play the runners-up of the Berlin-Liga. Two drawn games, 1-1 at home and 0-0 away meant promotion for Magdeburgs reserve team on the away-goal rule, the league champions, Source, Verbandsliga Sachsen–Anhalt. The league was established from fourteen clubs from four leagues in 1990, most of the East German clubs changed their names in the years after the reunion, some reverting to their old ones after a brief period. Current names, when different, are listed in addition to the name in 1990, FC Wernigerode, now Germania Wernigerode again Einheit Wernigerode, merged to form 1. FC Weißenfels Chemie Wolfen, later Grün-Weiß Wolfen Arminia Aschersleben, later 1

36.
Landesliga Bayern-Nordost
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The Landesliga Bayern-Nordost is currently the sixth tier of the German football league system in north eastern Bavaria and the third tier of the Bavarian football league system. It is one of five Landesligas in Bavaria, the four being the Landesliga Südwest, Landesliga Mitte, Landesliga Nordwest. The league replaced the Landesliga Bayern-Nord and the Landesliga Bayern-Mitte at this level, the Bavarian football federation carried out drastic changes to the league system at the end of the 2011–12 season. Below those, five Landesligas instead of the three were set, which were geographically divided to limit travel and increase the number of local derbies. Clubs from three different league tiers were able to qualify for the new league, from the Landesliga level, the clubs placed ninth to 15th had the opportunity to qualify for the Bayernliga through play-offs. Those clubs who failed to qualify for the Bayernliga were grouped in the Landesliga, the Landesliga clubs placed 16th, 17th and 18th automatically went to the Landesliga. The Bezirksoberliga champions also had the chance to qualify for the Bayernliga and those clubs who failed went to the Landesliga, alongside the BOL teams placed second to sixth. The league, in its season, plays with 20 clubs instead of 18, like the other four. FC Burgkunstadt which saw a minor realignement of the leagues, the league started out with 20 clubs in its inaugural season, the clubs coming from the following leagues, From the Landesliga Bayern-Nord, TSV Neudrossenfeld,1. At the end of the 2012–13 season, league champions SpVgg SV Weiden were directly promoted while runners-up SV Friesen failed to earn promotion via the promotion round. The league champions SpVgg SV Weiden had a season, winning the league by 30 points, losing only one game all season. At the other end of the table, FSV Erlangen-Bruck II, TSV Thiersheim and ASV Zirndorf were directly relegated, while FSV Bayreuth, FC Burgkunstadt had to enter the promotion/relegation round with the Bezirksliga runners-up. Both ASV Vach and 1. FC Burgkunstadt managed to hold the league while FSV Bayreuth was relegated after losing to TuS Feuchtwangen, for the 2013–14 season two clubs were promoted to the league, TSV Kirchenlaibach-Speichersdorf and ASV Veitsbronn-Siegelsdorf. Apart from these two sides the league also received 1, FC Strullendorf and SV Pettstadt who moved to the Nordost division from the Nordwest after the 2012–13 season while, in turn, SV Etzenricht and SV Mitterteich were moved to the Mitte division. The league is played in a format with the league champion being directly promoted to the Bayernliga. The bottom three teams from the Landesliga are directly relegated to the Bezirksligas, the teams placed 15th, 16th and 17th have to play-off with the Bezirksliga runners-up for their place in the Landesliga. The following teams have finished in the top-three in the league, Promoted teams in bold. net

37.
Landesliga Bayern-Nordwest
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The Landesliga Bayern-Nordwest is currently the sixth tier of the German football league system in north western Bavaria and the third tier of the Bavarian football league system. It is one of five Landesligas in Bavaria, the four being the Landesliga Südwest, Landesliga Mitte, Landesliga Nordost. The league replaced the Landesliga Bayern-Nord at this level, the former having existed from 1963 to its disbanding in 2012, the new Landesliga Nordwest covers eastern Upper Franconia and western Lower Franconia only while the old Landesliga Nord covered both regions in full. The Bavarian football federation carried out changes to the league system at the end of the 2011–12 season. Below those, five Landesligas instead of the three were set, which were geographically divided to limit travel and increase the number of local derbies. Clubs from three different league tiers were able to qualify for the new league, from the Landesliga level, the clubs placed ninth to 15th had the opportunity to qualify for the Bayernliga through play-offs. Those clubs who failed to qualify for the Bayernliga were grouped in the Landesliga, the Landesliga clubs placed 16th, 17th and 18th automatically went to the Landesliga. The Bezirksoberliga champions also had the chance to qualify for the Bayernliga and those clubs who failed went to the Landesliga, alongside the BOL teams placed second to sixth. The teams placed seventh to tenth in Lower Franconia and seventh to thirteens in Upper Franconia entered a play-off with the Bezirksliga champions for the remaining Landesliga spots. The league, in its season, also includes one club from Middle Franconia. FC Burgkunstadt, which saw the later moved from the north west division to the north east, FC Oberhaid From the Bezirksliga Unterfranken-Gruppe 2, SV-DJK Unterspiesheim,1. FC Augsfeld The opening game of the new league took place on 18 July 2012 when TSV Neustadt/Aisch hosted FVgg Bayern Kitzingen, at the end of the 2012–13 season, league champions SV Erlenbach were directly promoted while runners-up SV Pettstadt failed to earn promotion via the promotion round. At the other end of the table, TSV Bergrheinfeld, SV-DJK Unterspiesheim and 1, FC Oberhaid were directly relegated, while TG Höchberg and 1. FC Gerolzhofen had to enter the round with the Bezirksliga runners-up where both lost and were relegated. For the 2013–14 season four clubs were promoted to the league, FC Viktoria Kahl, SV Garitz, Würzburger FV II, three clubs were relegated from the Bayernliga to the Landesliga Nordwest,1. FC Sand, DJK Don Bosco Bamberg and TSV Kleinrinderfeld, apart from these clubs the league also received SpVgg Ansbach who moved from the Mitte division to the Nordwest after the 2012–13 season while, in turn, SV Pettstadt and 1. FC Strullendorf were moved from Nordwest to the Nordost division, the league is played in a home-and-away format with the league champion being directly promoted to the Bayernliga. The bottom three teams from the Landesliga are directly relegated to the Bezirksligas, the teams placed 14th and 15th have to play-off with the Bezirksliga runners-up for their place in the Landesliga

38.
Landesliga Bayern-Mitte (2012)
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The Landesliga Bayern-Mitte is currently the sixth tier of the German football league system in central and eastern Bavaria and the third tier of the Bavarian football league system. It is one of five Landesligas in Bavaria, the four being the Landesliga Südwest, Landesliga Nordost, Landesliga Nordwest. The league replaced the Landesliga Bayern-Nord and the Landesliga Bayern-Mitte at this level, the new Landesliga Mitte covers predominately the Upper Palatinate but clubs from Middle Franconia, Upper Franconia and Lower Bavaria based in the border region to Upper Palatinate also compete. However, the league boundaries can be slightly adjusted season-by-season by the Bavarian Football Association and it differs in that from the old league of that name completely covered the regions of Upper Palatinate, Middle Franconia and Lower Bavaria. The Bavarian Football Association carried out changes to the league system at the end of the 2011–12 season. Below those, five Landesligas instead of the three were set, which were geographically divided to limit travel and increase the number of local derbies. Clubs from three different league tiers were able to qualify for the new league, from the Landesliga level, the clubs placed ninth to 15th had the opportunity to qualify for the Bayernliga through play-offs. Those clubs who failed to qualify for the Bayernliga were grouped in the Landesliga, the Landesliga clubs placed 16th, 17th and 18th automatically went to the Landesliga. The Bezirksoberliga champions also had the chance to qualify for the Bayernliga and those clubs who failed went to the Landesliga, alongside the BOL teams placed second to sixth. The league, in its season, played with 18 clubs. FC Bad Kötzting From the Bezirksoberliga Mittelfranken,1, FC Schwarzenfeld The opening game of the new league took place on 20 July 2012 when FC Tegernheim hosted VfB Bach and won 4-0. At the end of the 2012–13 season, league champions TSV Bogen were directly promoted while runners-up DJK Vilzing failed to earn promotion via the promotion round, at the other end of the table, SV Seligenporten II,1. For the 2013–14 season four clubs were promoted to the league, SpVgg Lam, ASV Burglengenfeld, SC Ettmannsdorf, the league is played in a home-and-away format with the league champion being directly promoted to the Bayernliga. The bottom three teams from the Landesliga are directly relegated to the Bezirksligas, the teams placed 15th, 16th and 17th have to play-off with the Bezirksliga runners-up for their place in the Landesliga. The following teams have finished in the top-three in the league, Promoted teams in bold. net